


A Little Bit of Action

by MusicalLuna



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Allergies, Anaphylaxis, Bees, Explicit Language, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson Friendship, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, a single bee actually, badass little girls, hurt!Tony, scared!Steve, this is not medically sound pls just roll with it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 15:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7578718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicalLuna/pseuds/MusicalLuna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam throws a barbecue for his closest friends and, naturally, things get a lot more interesting when Tony Stark shows up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Bit of Action

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr [for a prompt.](http://musicalluna.tumblr.com/post/105751691785/i-am-craving-some-big-time-whump-like-tony-having)

“Heyyy!” Sam cries, delighted when he opens the door to find Steve and the rest of the Avengers crew standing on his doorstep.

“Heyyy!” Steve echoes, grinning fit to break his face. Sam can’t help but pull him into a tight hug, pleased to finally see him looking so happy. Steve huffs out a laugh and squeezes Sam’s shoulder. “It’s good to see you.”

Sam leans back to look him in the eye, squeezing in return. “Likewise, man, likewise. You look good.”

Steve smiles, chin dipping toward his chest. “Thanks, I feel good. Thanks for inviting us.”

Sam scoffs. “Like I was gonna miss the chance to have the Avengers over for my party. My friends think I’m _super_ cool.”

“ _No we don’t!_ ” his sister yells from inside the house and Steve laughs at Sam’s long-suffering sigh.

At the back of the group, Sam catches a glimpse of the one face he’s only ever seen in pictures or on TV. The others have all wound up here at one point or another seeking sanctuary or a place to crash while their science-mad girlfriend checked out an event at the Smithsonian.

Sam gasps with exaggerated surprise, putting a hand over his heart. “Is that…Tony Stark I see back there? _The_ Tony Stark? Are you finally gracing me with your presence?”

Clear, dark eyes meet his, narrowing a fraction before a faint smirk sweeps over his face. “Wasn’t my idea,” he says lightly.

Sam adds his other hand over the first, making a mock noise of hurt. “Is my pad not good enough for the amazing Tony Stark?”

Tony’s fighting back a grin now, but he says, “Sorry pal, very little is.”

Sam grins. “Come on in, come see how the other half lives. Anyone want something to drink?”

“Beer,” Clint says, leaning over Bruce and Natasha’s shoulders, one hand groping in a show of desperation. “ _Beer_ ,  _now.”_

“You got it,” Sam says, holding the door open as they all troop inside. He watches with interest as Steve hangs back until Tony reaches his side, one of the engineer’s hands moving to rest lightly at the curve of his lower back as they move through the door.

Well, that explains a few things.

–

Sam keeps an eye on them as he hands out beers and asks how the trip was and tells them when they’ll get their food. He doesn’t want to make assumptions. Maybe Stark is just a handsy kind of guy—wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility considering his reputation.

But as Sam watches, it quickly becomes clear that while he _is_ handsy, with all of them, even Sam, he has a  _particular_ way of touching Steve, always coming back around to him, like it’s his default setting. And the way Steve looks at him just confirms it.

So when everyone’s got a drink and they’re all settled in out in the yard munching on chips from the table on the patio chatting with his friends and family, Sam sidles up to Steve and leans up against the fence. “You didn’t mention you were seein’ somebody.”

Steve blushes, and Sam can’t help but grin, taking a swig out of the bottle in his hand. Rubbing at the back of his neck, Steve says, “It’s only been a couple of weeks and we haven’t really put a name to it yet.”

“Fair enough,” Sam says. “Seems to be doing you right.”

The faint smile on Steve’s face turns a little silly. “Yeah, I’m…” Shyly, he says, “He makes me happy.”

Sam grins so hard it hurts his face. “It’s about damn time something did.”

Steve laughs and Sam socks him in the shoulder. “Seriously, man, I’m glad to hear it. You been drawing?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, sounding surprised by himself again. “All the time, actually. Doodling a lot. Tony lets me sit in the workshop while he works.”

“On my wings I hope.” Sam raises his voice and calls across the yard to Tony, “When am I gonna get my new wings, huh?”

“Sorry,” Tony calls back blithely, “no shop talk at the holiday party.”

He grins when Sam curses. “You are a damn tease.”

“Don’t I know it,” Tony says with a wink. His smile deepens when he catches Steve’s eyes on him and he hides it behind the mouth of the bottle in his hand. For two grown-ass white boys, they’re cute.

The Avengers aren’t the last to arrive and the backyard quickly fills up, chatter rising to a dull roar. Sam catches a few of his friends being embarrassing and asking for photos, but for the most part everybody plays it cool and he’s happy to see them being folded into the group like they belong. He loves having all the people who’s company he enjoys all in one place like this, getting along and having a good time.

To Sam’s surprise, Tony is the first to get peeled off from the group by the kids. He ditches his beer and his jacket, doesn’t protest at all when Sam’s five-year-old nephew Jim takes his sunglasses and puts them on his own tiny nose. “You look sharp, kid,” he says. “Keep them.”

Jim runs off hollering, “ _Mom, Mom, look, he said I could have them!”_

“He’s great with kids, isn’t he?” Steve says, watching with an avid and obvious admiration.

“You’re causing a structural imbalance!” Tony yells, staggering in big exaggerated movements as two of the nieces and Sam’s buddy’s kid hang from his neck and shoulders, squealing. “The foundation can’t support the weight! We’re going down! Oh the humanity!” They shriek even louder through their laughter as Tony does a controlled fall, playfully crushing the kid around his neck.

Sam grins. “He sure is.”

“ _You’re too heavy!”_ Jody yells and Tony groans.

“Can’t get up. You collapsed me. We’re stuck.”

“No, we’re not!” she carries on, shoving at his shoulder.

Tony jolts, blurts, “Shit, ow. Fuck!”

The girls gasp and scatter like just being in the vicinity is going to call down their momma’s wrath. Sam frowns. Tony groans out a noise of pain, rolling onto his side.

“You okay?” Sam calls, and abandons the grill, jogging over to make sure the guy hasn’t thrown out his back or something.

“Yeah, ow, I think—I think something bit me, holy hell.” Tony hikes up the edge of his shirt, groping at his waist and hissing every time he makes contact. “Sorry I swore in front of the kids. It just— _ow._ ”

“Nah,” Sam says, waving it off. “No big deal. They know their mama will give them holy hell if they get cute and try to imitate.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Tony says again, “what the hell bit me, that hurts like hell.”

“Tony?” Steve comes up behind Sam, a little tentative. “Are you okay?”

Sam finally locates the spot Tony’s trying to get at. There’s a small area about half the size of a dime blanched white, surrounded by a rapidly growing ring of red. “Looks like a bee got you.”

“Is _that_ what that feels like? God, no wonder people get so worked up about bees.”

“Is this your first bee sting?” Sam asks, steadying Tony with one hand pressed over his ribs and carefully flicking the stinger free with his fingernail.

“Yeah,” Tony says, and coughs.

The girls have crept back over and are circling curiously around, craning their necks to get a better look. “What happened, Uncle Sam? Is he okay?”

“He got stung by a bee, baby. It smarts pretty good, but he’ll be okay,” he assures them, and glances up at Steve to make it clear he’s speaking to him too.

Jody nods and relaxes, but Mattie keeps staring hard at Tony, her little eyebrows burrowing toward the center of her forehead. She kneels down in front of Tony and after a second says, “No. You sound wrong.”

“What?” Tony says, but he doesn’t seem able to catch his breath.  His fingers curl tight around Steve’s sleeve. “Where—where’s the suit? I don’t feel right, Steve. Get me the suit.”

“O—Okay,” Steve says, and seems as alarmed as Sam feels about the fact that Tony’s gasping the words, the color draining from his face. He gets up, and at the same time Mattie whirls around, bolting to her feet. “Mom! Mom, where’s your purse?”

Sam helps get Tony into a sitting position, but it’s obvious immediately that that isn’t going to cut it. Tony’s breaths are getting sharper and shorter, and he reaches for his chest, tugging fruitlessly at his shirt.

All at once, Sam realizes what Mattie already had. Makes sense, she has the same problem. “Damn, I think you’re allergic,” he says.

“No…shit,” Tony gasps.

“Hey,” Sam calls. “Hey, somebody—Thor!” The big blond guy turns and Sam asks, “You got a phone? Call 911.”

Tony starts to protest and Sam tells him to shut up and focus on breathing. Everyone is starting to take notice now, Thor’s brow heavy over his eyes as he makes the call.

Mattie pushes her way back out of the crowd, a thin yellow stick clutched in her hand—one of her Epipens, oh hell. “Look out!” she says, and scrambles to her knees.

“They wish to know what is happening,” Thor says and Sam holds out his hand for the phone. He snatches it out of Thor’s grasp, tucking it up on his shoulder. “Hi, yeah, my friend’s having an anaphylactic reaction,” he says when the operator answers, and stares in awe as his ten-year-old niece jabs the Epipen into the outside of Tony’s thigh. He yelps, hand clamping down hard around Sam’s arm. Almost immediately, he starts to shake.

“It’s okay,” Mattie assures Tony, and it looks like he needs it. “You’re gonna be okay. The medicine will help and the doctors will make you better. Do you feel it?”

Tony lets out a shaky laugh. “Feel it, I feel like my heart’s gonna explode, oh god.”

Mattie grins at him. “But you can breathe, huh?”

That’s when Steve gets back, a big maroon and silver metal briefcase in hand, which he drops in the grass at his feet. “Tony?” He looks at Sam, fear overtaking his expression. Thankfully, Thor puts a hand on his shoulder and leads him aside so Sam can focus on giving the dispatcher the information they’re asking for.

The next few minutes are chaotic. Mattie won’t leave Tony’s side, and Steve is kind of a wreck faced with this thing that he can’t fight. Everyone keeps asking what they can do to help and all Sam can do is tell them to stay back. Then the paramedics show up and Tony starts to go anaphylactic again and they hustle him out of there.

Everyone looks bewildered and lost, though none more than Steve. “He’s gonna be okay,” Sam tells him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Steve nods, shellshocked. “Yeah. Yeah, I— God.”

“Come on,” Sam says, “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

–

They’re forced to wait around for hours and Steve paces the whole time, back and forth like a restless lion.

“How did—how did your niece know what to do?” he asks at one point and Sam shrugs.

“The Epipen she used was hers. She’s allergic to peanuts. Not as sensitive as some, thank God.”

“So she’s okay? She’s healthy?”

“Yeah.” A smile pulls at the corner of Sam’s mouth. “Sure doesn’t stop her. Just means she’s gotta be more careful than most people.”

“So as long as Tony doesn’t get stung by bees—”

“He’ll be just fine,” Sam assures him. Some of the tension leaks out of Steve’s frame and he finally sits.

Later, when they’re finally allowed in, he makes a low, strangled sound at the sight of Tony.

Tony’s face is a little bit puffy, though not nearly as swollen as Sam bets the area around the sting is. A wave of hives has moved up from under the neck of the gown, curling around his throat. He looks exhausted, which is to be expected after a dose of adrenaline. He’s hooked up to IVs and oxygen and a heart monitor and Sam remembers suddenly that Tony’s heart isn’t a hundred percent. They’re incredibly lucky he made it out the other side.

His eyes crack open and after a minute he rasps, “Hey, Steve.” His fingers twitch where they’re resting on the blanket.

Steve moves forward and Sam edges back to give them some space.

Gingerly, Steve takes Tony’s hand, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You scared the hell out of me.”

Tony huffs, turning into the attention. “Scared the hell out of myself.”

Sam gives them a few minutes to themselves and then clears his throat. “Everybody wants to come say hi and see you’re doing all right, Tony. Is that cool with you?”

Tony nods. “Sure, what the hell.”

Sam heads out to go collect them and then pokes his head back in. “Thanks for making my party interesting, man. I knew you would.”

Tony’s laughter follows him out into the hall.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [An Excess of Excitement (The Bee-Phasic Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9413579) by [Veldeia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veldeia/pseuds/Veldeia)




End file.
